It was at this time that Mr. Bennet received a letter from Colonel Forster saying that he had received orders to move his regiment from Brighton to a different encampment. He said that these orders meant that Miss Lydia's visit must come to an end and he asked if Mr. Bennet would come to pick her up, or should he send her by post? When Mr. Bennet shared the contents of this letter with his family, their reactions were mixed. Mrs. Bennet had hoped that her youngest daughter would have been able to capture a husband from among the officers before she came home, but she also missed her liveliest daughter. Mr. Bennet, along with his three oldest, knew that the relative peace and quiet at Longbourn would soon come to an end. Only Kitty was wholehearted in her delight to hear that her sister was coming home. With Lydia not at home, she had no one to follow in finding things to do.
Mr. Bennet did not relish the thought that he would have to go to Brighton to pick Lydia up, but he knew that he just could not tell her to come by post by herself. When he said that he would go to Brighton, his wife insisted that she wanted to go as well as it had been many years since she had spent any time in that seaside resort. After much pleading, her husband agreed. He even agreed that they could spend a few extra days there to take a short holiday. Mr. Bennet was not concerned about leaving his daughters at Longbourn as he trusted that his two oldest were very responsible.
Just a few days before Mr. Bennet received this letter from Colonel Forster, Elizabeth received a letter from Miss Darcy stating that she and her brother were definitely coming to Hertfordshire and asked if the offer for her to stay at Longbourn was still open. Elizabeth quickly sent a note saying that her Mother had given her approval and repeated how welcome she would be. During this time, she watched Jane and Mr. Bingley, often acting as their chaperone, although very circumspectly. It was obvious to her from how they treated each other that they were both very much in love and wondered why Mr. Bingley did not make her sister an offer. She assumed the delay was only due to his concern that he wanted them both to be very sure of their feelings for each other. While she was supposed to be their chaperone, she was quite careful to give them plenty of opportunities to be alone. However, Jane said that he never tried to kiss her, except on her hands, but only offered his arm and several times held her hand.
The Bennet parents left in the Longbourn carriage for Brighton and the very next afternoon the very impressive Pemberley carriage arrived at Longbourn. Elizabeth went out to greet the Darcys and Georgiana showed how pleased she was to see her again by giving her a warm embrace. Elizabeth made sure to give Mr. Darcy a very polite curtsy. She smiled shyly at him and said, "Mr. Darcy, I am very pleased to see you again. I thank you for allowing Miss Darcy to come to stay with us as I was very impressed by her when we met in Derbyshire and would like to be her friend. I hope you had a good trip? Will you come in to greet the rest of my family? Our parents are not here as they have gone to Brighton to pick up our youngest sister, Lydia, as she has been spending time there with her friend, who is the wife of the Colonel of the militia regiment that was stationed here in Meryton last winter. I hope you do not mind that we are here without them. They will be back in about a week or so."
Darcy certainly noticed how warmly she greeted him, especially her smile; she had such a wonderful smile. He was a bit concerned about their parents not being there, but he knew that he could trust the two oldest sisters. He was actually pleased that the youngest Bennet was not there as he remembered that she was the wildest sister and he had not really wanted his impressionable sister to be subjected to her antics. "It is good to see you as well, Miss Elizabeth. I hope that my sister will not be a burden to your family." Of course, she denied this vehemently. He offered his arm to her while they entered the house. This was noticed by Elizabeth's sisters and Kitty giggled at them. In spite of this, Darcy greeted each sister politely.
While the Longbourn staff, accompanied by Miss Darcy's lady's maid, brought in her trunks, Elizabeth introduced her to her three sisters. They certainly noticed how fine her dress was; it was nicer than anything that they owned. Elizabeth had told Georgiana that only Jane knew about the New Bond Street incident, so she did not say anything to Jane while being introduced, waiting until they were alone to do so. She thought that she did remember Jane as the lady who came to take Elizabeth away right after that horrible incident.
Before Mr. Darcy left for Netherfield, Elizabeth said, "Mr. Darcy, I would like to invite you to come for dinner, but that would not be proper with our parents not here. However, I will see if my Aunt and Uncle Philips will come to act as hosts. Then we will be able to invite you and Mr. Bingley to come." She then turned and saw that none of her sisters were near. She added quietly, "Mr. Bingley and Jane are courting very ardently and I want to do whatever I can to help them come to a formal decision. Wait until you see them together and you will see how much in love they both are." Mr. Darcy then took her hand, kissed it, and took his leave. He wondered if her comments on Bingley and her sister were a hint about love. Were her feelings for him becoming stronger? He was encouraged by this thought, but still remembered the vehemence of her refusal of his offer in Kent.
Elizabeth went in to find Georgiana and her sisters. She found that they had already gone up to show their visitor the guest room, which she said would suit her very well. The sisters, especially Kitty, looked longingly at the gowns as the maid unpacked and hung them up. Jane said, "Miss Darcy, it will soon be time for dinner. I hope you do not mind, but with our parents gone, we eat very informally in family style and do not change unless we have other guests coming. We will give you a few minutes to freshen up, then please come down."
Georgiana feeling very much at home among these very friendly young ladies, said, "Please, may we dispense with formalities when we are alone? I would like all of you to call me Georgiana, or just Georgie. I already call Miss Elizabeth 'Lizzy,' so may I call you 'Jane,' 'Mary,' and 'Kitty'?" They all agreed enthusiastically.
Dinner was a lively affair as the sisters asked their guest many questions. In turn, she asked them about their life here in Hertfordshire. Lizzy did manage to say, "Listen, everyone. I would like to invite Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley to come for dinner, but, of course, it would not be proper to do this when our parents are not here. Tomorrow morning, I suggest that we walk into Meryton to ask our Aunt Philips if she and Uncle would come to act as our hosts so we can invite the gentlemen to come. Do you think this is a good idea?" They all agreed to do this and Georgie said that she would like to see what shops were in the village.
After dinner, Lizzy insisted that their guest entertain them on the piano as she had praised her ability during dinner. Georgie agreed only if the others would play after her. Mary showed her the music they had and Georgie was pleased to see that there were several scores that she did not have. She looked at them and said that she hoped she would have time to learn to play them while she was there. She played two pieces that she knew, then insisted that someone else take her turn. Mary saw that Georgie was very skilled and said, "Georgie, your playing is wonderful and your fingering and tempo are much better than mine. I hope that you will have time to show me how I might improve. I am almost embarrassed to follow you now that I see how good you are." However, Georgie insisted that she play and, after hearing her, said that she hoped they would learn to play duets together. She thought that this would be a subtle way to help Mary play better without appearing to be critical of her.
Then Mary said that Lizzy had to play, which she did, also reluctantly. Georgie saw that Lizzy was not as skilled as either herself or Mary, but her playing did have feeling, which made listening to her very enjoyable. After this, Jane said that the next time, they should all sing while Georgie played. She told her that Lizzy had the best voice, but if they all sang together, no one would notice if any one of them had a weak voice. She then said that it was getting late, so they should retire. Jane, without realizing it, quite naturally had assumed the leading role in the household, which all the others accepted without argument.
After everyone had gone up, Jane and Lizzy talked, as they did every night. Lizzy asked, "So, what do you think of our guest?"
"She is everything that you said. She is very pleasant and will be a good influence on both Mary and Kitty. I am glad that Lydia is not here as she might be too much for Georgie, who seems to be a bit shy. By the time she comes, Georgie should be quite comfortable with the rest of us. Lizzy, I am glad that you suggested that we go to speak to Aunt Philips tomorrow as I would really like to have the gentlemen come to dinner." They then decided that it was time to sleep.
The next morning was sunny, so they could walk to Meryton as they had planned. Lizzy saw that Georgie wanted to talk to Jane, so she walked beside Mary and Kitty to give them a chance to talk quietly. Georgie said, "Jane, I assume that Lizzy told you how surprised we both were in Lambton when we were introduced? My brother had no idea that she was the lady who saved me from being abducted, even though he had known her for several months. My cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, as you probably know, was the officer who ended that villain's attack. Richard had met Lizzy in Kent, but did not recognize her. I have to tell you that he was very impressed by her when he first met her, but is even more interested in her now that he knows how brave she is."
"Lizzy mentioned that he seemed to be paying her a lot of attention."
"Yes, it was very obvious, but I am worried that he may formally ask to court her before my brother has a chance to tell her how much he likes her. My brother has never had to pursue any lady before as they have always thrown themselves at him, so he does not know what he should do. I tried to encourage him by giving him some suggestions, but he is actually quite shy around ladies and is having great difficulty showing his regard for her. So, I hope that you will help me by encouraging them to have time alone?"
"Does that mean that you think that Lizzy would be happier with Mr. Darcy than the Colonel? I have never met the Colonel and have no idea what he is like."
"He will make someone a good husband; he reminds me of your Mr. Bingley as he is so friendly. However, I do think that Lizzy is too intelligent for him and that she may get bored with him after a while. Richard is bright enough, but Lizzy far outshines him. That will not happen with my brother as he is the most intelligent man that I know. I believe that two weeks should be sufficient for him to offer for her if we help them. What do you think?"
"I believe that Lizzy either loves him already or is close to it, but she does not want to rush him. She still worries about how she refused his offer in Kent. We should use these few days until my parents return home to make sure they have plenty of time together." The two ladies chuckled at their talk.
They were just entering Meryton, so they began to show Georgie the shops. She was most excited to see the bookshop that also carried music. They all went in and spent some time looking at what was available. Lizzy found a book to buy and Georgie found several new pieces of music that she did not have. Georgie was tempted to pay for the book that Lizzy wanted, but she was not sure how her offer would be received. She did not want to embarrass Lizzy.
After leaving that shop, they went to the house of their Aunt Philips, where they were invited in. After Jane introduced their guest, they sat down for tea. Jane told her Aunt what they wanted. "Aunt, we are here to ask for your help. You know that our parents are gone for a week. We would like to invite Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy to come for dinner, but, of course, we cannot do this while our parents are not home. We need your help. Would you and Uncle be able to come to Longbourn to act as host and hostess for us? If you will, then we can invite the gentlemen to come to dine with us."
Their aunt was very aware of Jane's interest in Mr. Bingley, so she wanted to help. She had no idea that Lizzy was interested in Mr. Darcy as she had not seen them together recently. "Of course we will help you. I understand your situation. Your Uncle Philips and I have no dinner plans for the next several days, so we can come whenever you like." In her mind, she thought that it would be fun watching the courting couple become closer; she wanted to see all her nieces find husbands and knew that Jane was the closest to achieving this objective.
Jane turned to her sisters. "Is it too late for tonight? Will Cook have enough time to prepare dinner for nine?"
Lizzy, the very practical one, said, "She should be all right as long as the menu is not too fancy. We should get home soon to give her as much time to prepare as we can. We also have to send a note to Netherfield to invite the gentlemen. Thank you, Aunt, but we should leave now. We will send you a note to let you know if we have everything arranged for tonight." The ladies then took their leave.
As they were walking out of the village, they saw two horsemen coming toward them. Georgie said, "Look, it is my brother and Mr. Bingley. How fortunate."
The two gentlemen dismounted and greeted the ladies. Jane told them of their plans to invite them for dinner, to which they agreed immediately. They began to walk back to Longbourn and Georgie carefully took the arms of Mary and Kitty, leaving Mr. Bingley to walk with Jane and Mr. Darcy with Lizzy. The gentlemen led their horses and offered their arms to their ladies, which were gratefully accepted. As both Jane and Lizzy had decided to make sure their beaus knew of their regard, they both began quiet discussions with them and included many warm smiles, which were noticed and appreciated.
When they arrived at Longbourn, Mary offered to go talk to Cook and Darcy asked if it would be proper to go in with the ladies. They were all very aware that nothing improper should be done while the Bennet parents were not home. Jane, being the oldest and well aware that her parents expected her to set a good example, said, "I believe that it will be acceptable for a short time as long as we are all together. Hill is here, so we are not totally without a chaperone."
They all entered the house and both Bingley and Darcy managed to sit with their preferred ladies. Both ladies were very pleased at the attention they were receiving and their smiles showed their appreciation. The gentlemen did not stay long, well aware of the importance of not acting in any way that might be considered to be inappropriate. When they left, Lizzy sent a note to her Aunt to let her know that she would be needed to act as hostess for dinner that evening.
